Title in progress :D
by uglyducklingtoswan
Summary: While on a date, Annabeth and Percy have a run-in with Mrs. Dodds. They find an unusual demigod who has some strange powers. Join Katrina (my OC) on her quest to find love and to find out who she really is, and solve the mystery of her father's death. Rated T for allusions to abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO. Katrina and Ian are my OCs. This applies for all chapters**

Annabeth POV

It was a calm day. Percy and I found a Greek restaurant a while back, and want to see how authentic it was. Chiron let us go, but he gave us about two million warnings about anything that could go wrong. We had to swear on the River Styx that we wouldn't die.

When we got there, it was raining, but only a little bit. We sat outside under an umbrella, but the wind blew a bit, so Percy should've gotten rain all over him, but being son of the sea god and all, he didn't get wet. He still had to wear a poncho so no one would be wondering _how in the world is that boy not wet? _But for me, I had to wear one so I wouldn't get soaked.

While we were waiting for the food, Percy took my hand and held it as if it was a million dollar jewel. We smiled at each other.

"This is actually a pretty nice day," Percy said.

"Yeah, it really is," I said. I was being serious. It was summer, and the day was pretty warm, but the rain cooled me down. I looked into his sea green eyes and his tousled black hair. The green poncho he was wearing made his eyes look striking. I scooted my chair so that we sat next to each other, looking out at the streets and the people walking. When our food came, Percy and I made up a game to see how many people were either talking on cell phones or looked like they were talking to no body but were really talking to Bluetooth's. When we finished eating and set down the money, I had counted 40 cell phones and Percy counted 35 Bluetooth's.

I saw a girl about our age walking quickly, continuously looking over her shoulder. I pointed her out to Percy, wondering what was wrong. When we looked closer, she looked super scared. The girl looked behind her again, and she froze. Before I could ask Percy if he was seeing what I was seeing, she ran into a dark alley. I stared at where the girl had just been. Within 2 seconds, I saw a lady in a leather jacket stand in the exact same spot and looked around. Percy gasped. Her eyes fell on the alley where the girl had just run into and slowly walked into it.

"That was Mrs. Dodds!" Percy said.

I looked at Percy, and I knew right away that he was thinking the same thing I was. We got up and ran toward the alley. When we entered the alley, we saw Mrs. Dodds, with her back to us, shaking the girl violently, screaming at her to say where the camp was. When the girl started crying and shaking her head, Mrs. Dodds shoved her and she fell, hitting her head on the concrete. With her back still to us, her arms grew into long, leathery bat wings, her fingers and feet turned into claws. Her face transformed into a hollow skull with only the thinnest layer of skin, with eyes that glowed orange-red and yellow fangs. She had turned into a Fury.

I looked at Percy, who looked at me with a mischievous hint in his eyes. "Let's go get 'er," he said.

I pulled out my dagger while Percy uncapped his magic pen, Riptide, that transformed into a sword. Then the Fury flapped her wings and was about to dive for the girl when Percy shouted, "HEY!" It must have really scared her, because her wings kind of spazzed out, causing her to fall onto a metal garbage can. I heard a loud _crack_, then the Fury screeched and rolled off the can, but was unable to get up after trying to pull her feet beneath her. I figured her back was broken.

At that happy thought, Percy and I ran forward and stabbed her. She exploded into powder with a scream. That all happened within about 30 seconds. But before I could even think about that, Percy and I ran over to the girl, who was groggily trying to sit up.

"Ugh… What happened?" she asked.

"You were attacked, but you're safe now," Percy said reassuringly.

"Why don't you tell us your name," I insisted.

The girl groaned and rubbed her head. "I'm Katrina." Then she groaned really loudly and fell against Percy, her whole body extremely tense. Percy looked surprised, but gave me a look that said _it's okay_. As Katrina began to cry, Percy put his arms around her, quietly telling her it would be okay.

We sat like that for about 20 minutes when Katrina fell asleep. About 10 seconds later, Blackjack, Percy's Pegasus, flew down next to us. I don't know what Percy and Blackjack were saying to each other (Percy can talk to horses since his father, Poseidon, helped create the horse), but the Pegasus eventually whinnied happily and allowed me and Percy to lift Katrina onto his back. Then Percy got on in front of Katrina while I sat behind her.

"I promised him I'd find him the juiciest red apples I could find when we get back, plus a dozen donuts," Percy told me, laughing. Then we were soaring above Manhattan, flying back to Camp Half-Blood.


	2. Chapter 2

Katrina POV

I was being followed by a woman. How do I know that? Whenever I went into a store, she was there and kept looking at me. So I stayed on the street. Whenever I turned around, she was there. It was starting to really scare me, so I ran into an alley, hoping she wouldn't find me. I hid behind a garbage can just in case. Five seconds later, she came running after me. I don't know how, but somehow she found me and grabbed me with strong arms. She shook me so violently that I thought my neck would break.

"WHERE'S THE CAMP?" she screamed at me. I didn't know what she was talking about, but my neck was really beginning to hurt. I started crying and I couldn't control my tears. The lady's face screwed into distaste, and she pushed me back so hard that I tripped and fell, hitting my head on the concrete. After that, it was a blur. I thought I saw the woman grow wings, then a boy and a girl came and, I think, they killed her, but then I saw dust blowing, and figured that couldn't be true. Who turns in to dust?

The boy and girl came over to me as I tried sitting up, but my head spun. I barely remember what happened next, but I do remember crying into the boy's chest. Then I fell asleep.

I dreamt of my dad. It was a good dream, him playing with me and watching movies. He even taught me some hand-to-hand combat fighting. All the good stuff that we did together passed in front of my eyes. Then I saw him staring at a picture of Mom. She had left me with my dad when I was 8 months old. I don't know if I forgive her for just leaving us like that, but he was always so fond of her. Then I dreamt about the headlines on the newspaper. CRASH! Daughter Survives. There was a picture of my dad's blue Honda wrapped around a tree. It was Dad and me. We were in that crash. He didn't survive. I would like to say it was almost an instantaneous death, but I would be lying. My dream replayed every moment.

_We are driving on a foggy road that isn't often used. It's nice that there are no people here, making it seem like a deserted graveyard. We are singing to the radio. We don't know the song, so we make up words, joking with each other. Dad stops singing and looks at me._

"_You're as beautiful as your mother," he says._

_I blush. I am about to tell him a joke when he looks forward and yells. I look out the window to see what he's yelling at, but Dad swerves the wheel to the right and my seat belt cuts into my shoulder. _

_I look forward and see that we are headed straight for a tree. I scream. Dad yanks the wheel to the left, __overcorrecting,__ but all we do is skid. The car turns so Dad is closer to the tree. Then the car hits the tree. My head snaps to the left at the sudden stop, and the seat belt burns against my shoulder. Dad's window shatters, glass sprays everywhere. I feel tingling and burning sensations on my face. The airbag pops open, and it hits my face with such force that my head snaps back._

_Then everything is quiet. Everything is still. I look over at Dad._

"_Dad?" I manage to croak out._

_He looks at me. I gasp. He is covered in blood. He reaches for my hand. I take his. I look at his eyes. He looks weak. Oh no… Is he dying? I couldn't even think about it._

"_Stay strong… Be clever," Dad whispers between breaths. Tears well up in his eyes. He gives me a smile. Then his face goes slack. His hand goes limp in my hand._

"_No… Dad, no. Dad!" I start panicking. I out my window to see a car pulled over. A man is on his phone talking urgently. I pray that he's calling 911. He comes over and is trying to stay calm. He sees that I'm watching him, and he almost jumps with joy. I hear him say "The girl is alive, but I can't tell about the driver."_

"_Help…" I croak. Then I black out._

I woke up screaming. Everyone in the room suddenly turned around and a few girls rushed over to me. They kept telling me that I was safe and I was alright. I didn't know who they were, so I screamed at them. I didn't notice that someone had come into the room until he was right in front of me. At the sight of him, I stopped screaming, but my mouth was still open. The man was a centaur! Just like in those stories that Dad always told me at bedtime. His horse half was a great white stallion. His human half was a middle aged man with a scruffy brown beard. He huffed.

"Well, I'm glad you're awake," the centaur said. "I am Chiron, the camp activities director." I gapped at him.

"You're a… a…" I was starting to stutter. I hated when I did that.

"Yes, I'm a centaur. Please close your mouth," he chuckled. I didn't even notice that my jaw hung open. I closed my mouth.

I realized that I was in some sort of hospital. There were cots lined up in rows that were surprisingly comfy. There were also lots of people with stab wounds or deep gashes in their arms. I had no idea where so many people got them, but I didn't want to know. As I looked around more, I saw that some of the guys had bizarre looking legs. Then I concentrated harder and realized that they were goat legs! Oh my god, they were satyrs!

Just when I was about to ask where I was, a boy and a girl, both of about 17, walked into the room holding hands. When they saw me, they rushed over to me.

"How are you?" the boy said. He had black hair, wind-blown, like he had just come from the beach, and beautiful sea green eyes. They were almost mesmerizing.

"Fine, I guess. What happened? Where am I?" I asked.

The girl said, "You were attacked. Percy and I saved you. You're at Camp Half-Blood. And trust me, you're very safe now." I looked at her, unsure of what she was saying. She crouched next to my cot. "I'm Annabeth. This is Percy." She gestured to the boy. "Don't worry. Nothing will attack you here."

In the next couple hours, they explained to me who I was attacked by, while I almost started hyperventilating. When they calmed me down, they took me outside where I was mobbed by campers. They were all basically asking if I was okay, but some were asking who my godly parent was, which I obviously couldn't answer.

When I was starting to get really overwhelmed, Annabeth shouted, "Everyone! Calm down. Leo! Don't you _dare_ release that robot."

Right when she said that, I felt a pinch on my leg. It was a really sharp pinch, too. I yelped and looked down, trying to shake whatever it was off. I saw no other than a small robot. It had weird looking claws for hands, but the body was like a wing-up toy. I kept yelping when it wouldn't let go.

"LEO! Come here right now and get that thing off her!" Percy yelled.

Reluctantly, an elfin looking boy with curly black hair and a mischievous smile came up and said, "You can let go now," while trying not to laugh. Instantly, the robot let go, but I still swung my leg and connected with Leo's stomach. He grunted and dropped to the ground.

"Oh gods! That hurt!" he shouted.

I swung my leg again and the robot went flying into the air and landed in the dirt. It got up, made some weird whirring sounds while shaking its arms, and hobbled off.

"He does _not_ like you," Leo commented gasped.

"Like I care," I snapped at him.

"Leo. Would you kindly show Katrina around the camp?" Annabeth asked. It was more like an order though. Leo and I both groaned.

"Come on, Robo Boy. Let's get this over with," I said and walked away, leaving Leo in the dust behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

Leo POV

That new girl was just an opening _asking _me to send that robot. Her reaction was too funny. But when Katrina kicked me in the stomach, I immediately knew she was a challenge I was going to accept. Then Annabeth told me to show Katrina around. That was practically a dream come true.

"Come on, Robo Boy. Let's get this over with," Katrina said and walked away, leaving me on the ground.

I looked after her and couldn't help admiring her caramel colored hair, the way her curls bounced as she walked. Her tanned and powerful arms and legs looked like they had gone through years of practicing fighting. She turned around, looking at me with an impatient expression. I quickly got up.

"You don't expect me to jump up right when you kick me in the stomach, do you?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"I didn't kick you that hard," Katrina said. I rolled my eyes as we approached the cabins. I told her which was which, but she didn't seem to be listening.

After showing her almost the entire camp, the conch horn blew, signaling it was time for capture the flag. We ran to the field where the game would start. The Hephaestus cabin and the Athena cabin and others were put together, while the Poseidon cabin (who was only Percy) and Ares cabin and others were put together. Unfortunately, Percy's team got the Apollo cabin, all of whom were the best archers in camp. We would have to win based on Annabeth's strategy and my brilliant machines. Chiron placed Katrina on my team.

"So, all we need to do is get their flag, and bring it back to our side, right?" Katrina asked.

"Basically. Just don't get hurt," Annabeth warned. Katrina looked worried.

Annabeth gave me the job of helping her retrieve the opposing team's flag. Katrina was told to help guard our flag.

I winked at Katrina as we split up. "Good luck," I told her

"I think you're the one who's gonna need it," she said with a smirk.

Katrina POV

After we separated, I got on my armor and was told to pick out a sword. I chose one with a leather handle and a bronze blade that fit nicely in my hand. But when no one was looking, I grabbed a dagger and stuck it in my belt. Who knows if I'll need it?

As I waited at my post, I got bored. So I practiced fighting with the sword. It was a little awkward, but kind of nice, like an extended arm. I sheathed my sword and practiced with the dagger. It was a mix of gold and bronze with a worn black leather strapped handle. It felt really good to use.

Before I knew it, I was using moves that Dad taught me, but I added moves to use the dagger. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped and looked down at the blade. My reflection was almost like looking into a mirror. I saw my caramel colored hair and my blue eyes. _Stay strong… Be clever_. I tried not thinking about it, but I couldn't. I thought about my foster parents. What were they thinking right now? They were probably happy that I was gone. I recounted events as I started slashing and hacking the air with my dagger.

My foster parents seemed nice at first. But their kids weren't the nicest. Eventually, my foster siblings started doing things and blaming it on me. They even once broke a vase and I was forced to skip dinner for the next 3 days. Then the second worst day of my life popped into my head.

I pulled out my sword and continued to swing and block.

_I am putting the dishes away, careful not to make too loud of a noise so Kurt, my foster father, won't hear me. The rest of his family are out of the house visiting his wife's parents, but Kurt wanted to stay home to finish some work._

_My mind starts to wander. I think about the Greek stories Dad used to tell me about. We used to watch Hercules all the time. I could almost taste the kettle corn that we ate while we watched. _

_I hear the floor creak behind me. I quickly, but carefully, set the glass I am holding down. When I turn around, I see Kurt. My heart begins to race with fear. All he wears is athletic shorts that were very baggy on him. I must admit, he is fit, but I'm not sure why he is shirtless in front of me or looking at me with that strange look on his face. _

_Kurt walks up to me. I stand my ground. "Is there something I can help you with?" I ask._

"_Yeah, I was hoping you could help me with some math problems. I noticed you're good at them, since you've had A's in math." He works as an accountant for a big company, but I've never had to help him before._

"_Okay. Sure. May I finish the dishwasher first?" I'm trying to stall, but hoping that Kurt isn't thinking that's what I'm doing._

"_Sure. I'll help," he says, and reaches around me to pick up the glass that's behind me and I can feel his breath tickle the back of my neck. I back away. I control my breathing and continue putting dishes away. While I was reaching to put the last dish away, Kurt puts his hands on my waist. I freeze. I'm glad the plate is on the stack; otherwise I would have dropped it._

"_You know, you're very pretty," he comments. _

"_Thank you," I say, trying not to let the fear show in my voice. I put my arms down. He turns me around._

_Before I can think about what's happening, Kurt is holding my hair and dragging me to my room. I scream, and he shoves me onto my bed and closes my door. I try to scramble off, but he grabs my shoulders and presses him mouth to mine. I try to push him off me, but I trip over his feet and land on my floor. The wind is knocked out of my lungs. I try to breathe, but his body is too heavy. He continues to kiss me._

_Why is this happening?_

I snapped out of my memory. I heard the battle raging in the woods. How I longed to fight alongside them. I looked to my right and left. Then I ran to the woods toward the clashing and yelling.

I reached a clearing where much of the battle was going on. I was just about to run forward when I saw a girl on my team fall down with an arrow stuck in her arm.

I almost screamed, but got my wits together. I looked around for the shooter. When I saw someone up on a cliff, I smiled and ran to it. When I got to the base of the cliff, I guessed there must have been an easier way for the shooter to get up there. So I ran around it while he or she continued to shoot down people on my team.

On the other side of the cliff face, there was a hill leading up to the edge. Quietly, I sneaked up the hill, finally hiding behind a tree that was only a few yards behind the shooter. I peeked around the tree to see his back turned toward me. I took a deep breath without taking my eyes off him.

I took a few steps closer to him. After about 5 steps, he cocked his head as if listening. I stopped and held my breath. Just when he was about to turn his head, I jumped forward and swung my sword with a grunt.

"Whoa!" he shouted and fell back, inches away from my blade. If he had been any closer to the edge, he would have fallen off, but he didn't.

The shooter grabbed his bow and rolled next to me. Then he tried to kick my legs out from under me, but I was ready for that. I jumped and the guy lost his balance and fell down. I raised my sword and swung down, but he rolled out of the way. My sword cut into the ground, and I tugged it, but it stuck a bit. I pulled again and it finally came out. I turned around to prepare for an attack from him. But I saw him calmly waiting against a tree.

"Took you long enough," he said. And immediately he jumped toward me. I moved to the side so he blew past me. He stumbled, but when I came up behind him, he grabbed my wrist and twisted. I yelped and let go of my sword. He let go of my wrist and picked up my sword. Then he played with it a bit, making me dodge and dance around trees.

"You gonna keep playing like this? Or am I going to have to come get you?" he taunted.

"Neither. You can put the sword down and let me win," I said panting.

"You're funny. You know that, right?" He said laughing.

"Nah, I'm just buying time," I said as we reached a clearing.

That stopped him. "Time to do what?" he asked.

"This!" I pulled out my dagger and spun around. I hit his head on the side with my pommel and he fell down as his helmet fell off. I jumped next to him, grabbed his bow that was on the ground and flung it away, and was about to punch him when he brought his legs up and grabbed my head with his feet and pulled me down, knocking my helmet off. I rolled away from him and stood up. As I faced him, he grabbed an arrow and was about to notch it when he realized that he didn't have his bow. He looked so mystified that I almost started laughing. But I decided against it and lunged at him with my dagger. He yelped as I drove my knee into his chest. I pointed my blade at his neck. He gulped.

"You're dead," I said with a smirk. Then the conch horn blew, signaling the end of the game. I got up and looked at the guy on the ground.

"You got skills, girl. Where'd you learn to fight like that?" he asked.

"I learned from my dad. Why?"

"Because most first-years aren't good at fighting," he said as if it was obvious.

I sighed. I was about to walk away when the guy called out, "I'm Ian."

I smiled. "I'm Katrina." I guess I just made a friend in the weirdest way.


	4. Chapter 4

Katrina POV

As we walked to the dinner pavilion, we talked about how we got to Camp Half-Blood. When I told Ian my story, he looked very concerned about me.

"How are you holding up? Knowing that Greek gods and all the Greek mythology stuff is real?" Ian asked.

"Well, it's all really surprising. But it's cool at the same time. I just wish I knew who my mom was," I said. I slowed my pacing as I began to hear people shouting and laughing. "My mom left me with my dad just after I was born. I don't know what to think. I always thought that she got scared and left, but if she's a goddess, I guess she couldn't spend her whole life with me."

We walked for a few minutes before I asked, "Who's your godly parent?"

"Apollo," Ian replied as torches around the pavilion came into view.

I gasped. "Apollo is one of my favorite gods!" I almost hugged him, but then I remembered that I barely knew him. I awkwardly stood looking at him. I half expected him to leave me and go to dinner, but he didn't. Instead, Ian laughed and threw his arm around my shoulders. Relieved, I laughed with him. He guided us to the pavilion where Chiron met us.

"Hello, Ian. Katrina, it's time to find out who your mother is." Then he walked off without waiting to see if I was following. I looked at Ian uncertainly. I wasn't sure if I was ready to find out something like that. Ian nodded toward Chiron.

"Go on," he said. "I'll be right here." I smiled. I guess I really _did_ find a friend.

I followed Chiron to the bonfire. It seemed to rise higher as I approached it.

"Come, child," Chiron said kindly. The pavilion was filled with people, all of who were whispering guesses. I heard some say Aphrodite, but most weren't sure.

"I'm going to have to take a hair of yours," Chiron said.

"Oh. Sure," I replied, plucking a caramel colored hair off my head. I gave the hair to him, not sure what he was going to do with it. Then he tied it to a small polished stone and tossed it into the fire. How he tied it in a knot, I'll never know, but I forgot about it because as soon as it hit the flames, the fire dimmed and turned silver. Then above the fire, its sparks formed an owl. I tried to think. What did the owl mean?

Everyone gasped. After a moment, Annabeth walked forward and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Katrina, daughter of Athena."

Annabeth POV

She didn't look anything like the rest of us. She had caramel hair and bright blue eyes. All children of Athena had blonde hair and gray eyes since we were all brain children. How could she look different than us, yet be one of us?

As dinner began, everyone at the Athena table kept looking at Katrina and whispering questions. Even I was confused, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from making her comfortable and welcome. I sat next to Katrina, who was sitting a little further away from everyone else.

"Athena is my favorite goddess. I was so excited to find out that I'm her daughter, but no one else seems excited," Katrina said gloomily.

"You can't know that for sure," I said trying to cheer her up.

"Then why is everyone whispering about me rather than talking to me?" she countered.

I sighed I didn't want to have to explain this, but it seemed like there was no choice. "It's because you look different than the rest of us."

"What does looking different have anything to do with it?" she asked.

"Well-" I began. But then I was cut off by a huge roar from the fire. It grew within 3 seconds and reached a good 30 feet. The fire swelled, then began showing a scene. I saw a car with a man and a girl in it. They were alone on a two-way street. The people in the car seemed to be laughing at something, but all I could hear was the crackle of the fire. Then the driver looked at the girl and smiled. Then the driver looked forward to see a Minotaur running straight at them. I heard Katrina gasp next to me, but I couldn't take my eyes off the fire. The driver swerved to avoid the beast, but ran off the road. My heart raced. The driver then turned the wheel again to try to avoid hitting a tree, but something went wrong and the car stopped working. I watched as the car hit the tree, and it seemed like it was in slow motion as I saw the car bend and break. The girl in the passenger seat began screaming and looked out her window. Then the view zoomed in on her face. I heard the entire camp gasp. The girl was Katrina.

The fire dimmed and shrunk, but had turned dark purple. I knew just from looking at the fire that everyone was scared and worried. At once, everyone in the pavilion turned to look at Katrina, but she was running away, holding her hands to her face. Even though she was yards away from me, I could hear her sobs. I was so shocked that I didn't even think to go after her. Then she disappeared into the darkness beyond the fire.

Katrina POV

As I ran away from all the eyes that stared at my back, I sobbed and kept replaying the images over and over again in my head.

I couldn't believe it was a _Minotaur_ that caused the accident. I had thought it was just a cow in the road, but that… that thing _attacked_ us! I knew that Minotaurs never just roamed in the mortal world, so it must have been summoned. But why did it attack us? Who wanted to kill us?

My mind went to Dad. Did he know that the accident wasn't just an accident? Did he know that it was probably my fault he was dead? Was he in the Underworld right now, in Elysium? I hoped so. Dad was the greatest hero of all time. He raised me, taught me to defend myself, and saved my life. He deserves to be in the happiest place in the Underworld.

I continued to run until I realized that I had no clue where I was. I stopped, tears still streaking down my face. I looked around, but I couldn't see the lights from the pavilion. All I saw where trees in the fading light of the sun. I sat down in the grass, feeling as though I couldn't use my legs any more. My entire body felt numb. I wanted to think, but my brain would only show me the image of the Minotaur.

It had gotten dark when I heard the crackle of a small fire. I thought I was just imagining it, but when I felt heat on my back, I turned around to see Leo. He wasn't smiling, which was a first, but had a sad look in his eyes. I assumed he had a torch, but when I looked at the fire he was holding, it was on his hand!

"Leo! Your hand!" I shouted.

Leo grinned, but it more of a sad smile. "I've been able to do this my whole life. Creating fire at will, I mean."

I continued to stare at his hand as I stood up and said, "You don't seem very happy about it."

Leo's expression stayed where it was. "I love it, but it has some bad things. For example…" He took a breath. He didn't seem too sure if he wanted to share something with me, but he said, "It was the reason my mom died." I looked at him.

"Are you trying to fool me?" I asked, but I knew he wasn't.

Leo looked at me. He looked almost angry, but not at me. He looked like he wanted revenge. "I thought I was being attacked, but I was tricked. I accidentally set fire to a building that Mom and I were both in. I've felt responsible for her death for a long time. I could never forgive myself." He looked at me with kind eyes. I hadn't known him for long, but I knew he wasn't a serious person. "But then I found out that I was more to the world, to my friends at Camp Half-Blood, than I thought. It gave me a reason to stop hating myself." He stopped and sighed. "I know that you probably feel responsible, since you lived and he didn't. But don't hurt yourself over it. Nothing will be the same, but you'll find a way to live, not just survive." He was near tears. "I will _not_ let you go through the pain and hurt I went through."

I hugged Leo. "Thank you," I said gratefully.

Leo extinguished his fire and hugged me back as we were swallowed by darkness.

Then I heard a growl.


	5. Chapter 5

Katrina POV

I yelped at the sound of the growl. Leo lit up both of his hands, but then the growling stopped. I looked around. When I didn't see anything, I was about to ask Leo what it was. But I was cut off by a loud bark. And I mean _loud_. It scared away birds that were a hundred feet away.

Leo and I froze and looked at each other. I had no idea what it was, but Leo seemed to recognize the sound from the fear that I could see in his eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pair of yellow eyes and vicious teeth that gleamed in the firelight.

"Oh, crap," Leo whispered.

"What is that thing?" I asked.

"It's a hellhound. Back away slowly." I did as he said, but he stayed where he was. I pulled out my dagger. I felt better knowing that I had something to help protect me. I somehow knew that the hellhound was too powerful for one person, so I stopped moving away, hoping that the two of us could take it down.

Then the hellhound stepped into view. The body was as big as a garbage truck. The tail alone was 4 feet long. Its black fur was matted with sweat and dirt mixed with what looked like blood. Its claws were as big as butcher knives. I wanted to hide, but I figured that its nose was too powerful; it could smell me from a mile away.

Leo suddenly shot a ball of white fire at the hellhound. The beast tried to move away, but the ball hit it on the side. The monster screamed and pawed at the fire, but Leo jumped on its back and tried to burn the back of its neck. But then the hellhound rolled on its back, knocking Leo off and putting out the fire. I could already smell the beast's burning flesh. I wanted to throw up.

Leo rolled to one side, but then the monster swung its giant paw and hit Leo square in the chest, sending him flying and hit a tree. He fell at the base, unconscious. Unfortunately, his fire went out, so I was left with starlight and the moon.

The hellhound took an angry step toward Leo. I was so scared that I could barely think. But only barely. One thought came to mind: get the hellhound's attention.

"Hey, you!" I shouted. The hellhound turned its massive head to look at me. "Yeah, you, stinky!" The beast growled and ran toward me. I knew it would be fast just by looking at the legs, so I knew running away wasn't an option. I darted behind a huge oak at the last second and the hellhound skidded past me. I gripped my dagger with a sweaty hand, hoping that it didn't see me as it turned around and that I wouldn't drop my dagger. Wouldn't that be great? _Death by sweaty hands?_

When it did, I expected it to run straight at me, but its eyes couldn't seem to find me. It sniffed the air. I was sure I was going to die, but then it stopped sniffing and whined as if it was very confused. _Why can't it find me?_ I asked myself. But I was glad it couldn't. Without taking my eyes off the hellhound, I took a step towards Leo. It still couldn't see me. I took another step, then another. I kept my steps slow as to not make noise. With every step, I prayed to every major and minor hunting god or goddess there was that I wouldn't step on a twig or dry leaf. But all I landed on was soft grass. I thanked the gods every time I didn't step on something brittle, but then pleaded that they would help me if I made a mistake. The hellhound began licking the burn on its side. I almost felt bad for the creature.

By the time I was almost next to Leo, the hellhound was sniffing the tree I had been at. I was so glad I hadn't stayed there. When I reached Leo, I crouched down, set down my dagger, and poked his shoulder. I was surprised that he was still unconscious, but he was hit pretty hard. I gently touched his chest to feel for any gashes. When I felt something warm and wet, I almost screamed. I looked at my hand, but it was too dark. I tried squinting my eyes to see better, but suddenly everything turned green and looked almost as bright as day. Surprised, I looked around, and saw the hellhound looking in my direction, but sitting down. I quickly looked at my hand, and saw that there was indeed, something weird and not water on my hands. I looked at Leo's chest to see a big gash. I wanted to throw up.

I looked back at the hellhound, who was taking careful steps toward me and Leo. I shook Leo's shoulder, careful not to touch the blood. He groaned. I quickly put my hand over his mouth and his eyes slowly opened. I put my finger to my lips, leaned next to his ear, and whispered, "There's a hellhound that wants to kill us."

Leo immediately widened his eyes and started to get up, but then he yelped and fell down. We heard a growl and turned to look at the hellhound that was only a few feet away from us. I picked up my dagger and stood up. I thought about Dad. I wasn't going to let Leo die. But I knew I was going to have to get rid of the beast to help Leo.

I looked at him and said, "Go back to the camp as fast as you can. I'll be fine."

With that, I ran toward the hellhound. The hellhound bared its teeth and shot towards me. I swerved at the last second and thrust my arm out, cutting a deep gash in its shoulder. The monster screamed and turned toward me in anger. It jumped to pounce on me, but I ran towards it, bent my knees, and slid across the dirt, like how baseball players slid to a base. As the hellhound flew over me, I raised my arm and felt the blade pierce the skin and cut through. I didn't dare look up. To my surprise, the hellhound burst into yellow dust and floated down on top of me.

When I slid to a stop, I turned around to see nothing. The hellhound had just disappeared, like the lady in the alley. Then I turned around to see Leo, who was still at the tree. I ran toward him, my heart racing as fast as a cheetah. When I reached him, I knelt and put two fingers up to his neck to check for a pulse. I let out a giant breath that I didn't even know I had when I felt the soft _thump thump_ of his heartbeat. Then I heard the voices of campers yelling my name.

I jumped up and ran off in the direction of the campers. I ran as fast as I could as I tried to get the fear out of my head. That Leo's life depended on me. I swerved around trees, jumped over roots, ducked under low branches, but I never felt like I was moving fast enough.

Eventually, I got to the campers with scratches all over my arms and legs from twigs that surprised me. I had to will the night vision thing away because the torches they were holding were too bright. A guy and two girls saw me and ran to help me back to camp, but I managed to pant out, "Leo… Hellhound… Blood… Help…" They got the message to call for help right away as I caught my breath. Within about 5 seconds, I heard the sound of horse hooves on dirt running towards me and saw Chiron speeding toward me.

"Are you alright, Katrina?" I nodded. "Do you know where Leo is?" Chiron voice was filled with fear and concern. I nodded again. "Show us," Chiron commanded.

"Follow me," I said and took off in the direction I came from. With the light of the torches behind me, I was able to see where I was going, but I still tripped, cursing under my breath each time.

When we finally got to the clearing where Leo was, everyone gasped at the sight of him, whose blood twinkled bright red in the torchlight. But when we saw his chest slowly rise, the entire group let out a breath at the same time.

The sight of the blood made my head spin. I walked over to Leo as I fought off the dizziness. But then I stopped when I saw Chiron trot up to him and carefully gathered Leo into his arms.

"Everyone, back to camp," Chiron said. With that, we all turned and hurried back to camp. As we walked back, my mind went over everything that happened within the past half hour. It was strange. Could other children of Athena see in the dark? What had happened when the hellhound couldn't see me? I made a mental note to ask Annabeth as I walked among the other campers.

Random 3rd POV

_Damn!_ thought the man. He was muscular and had many scars from previous battles that he had won. His eyes were wild with fright. He was afraid of what his master would do, since the girl was still alive. She must be stronger that he had originally thought. The man had watched the entire fight, even seen Katrina vanish. That would be useful when she joined them.

With confidence, he smiled. Then, silent as a shadow, he vanished into the darkness of the trees.


End file.
